Programming advice

[Mikey851]

As far as the lasers go; I will just be beat matching. Each song will have it's own page with the cues and colors that match the mood and intensity of the song. The latest version of quickshow is impressive with it's virtual lj......I feel I could only do so much that would be any better. Maybe some beam targeting chases. I will be creating some of my own patterns however.

I will use quick effects to modify patterns on the fly. This show is also going to be a scrim show using some no see um netting.

[Ragdoll]

Sounds like a decent solution with software. For me and anyone who uses strictly wax or sometimes cds for most of my major gigs I am still looking for a solution.

[Mikey851]

It would be overkill but you might have to actually buy a MTC or midi clock generator to accomplish what you want if you aren't using software. The problem is that these devices cost around $1000 plus.

[norty303]

Personally, I use tap to time for all my laser and lighting sync requirements. Audio in and beat sensing is usually pretty dire in my experience.
I use the colour pallete (the RGB channels on knobs on the SL MkII) in LivePro to match colours between lights and lasers, or to create contrasts.
Essentially, you probably want to try and avoid too much automation, it will only cause you problems in the long run. A well set up lighting desk and laser controller, that allow you to react easily/quickly will serve you far better in more situations.
'Busking' is the keyword here.

[Mikey851]

I hear ya Norty. I am going to set my virtual console up as if it were for any random dj playing any random music. For this particular 10 song set though I just want to automate some things such as moving head patterns using phasing, strobe and other led fixture chases right on cue etc.

In my limited experience there are also ways to set your console up to perform better (relatively) while using automation. Nevertheless I will not be relying on it. I will have all sorts of looks that I can cue manually as well as some basic programming saved into my dmx dongle in case of computer crash.